Window with removable sash guides



Dec. 25, 1956 H. J. BIANCO 2,775,003

WINDOW WITH REMOVABLE SASH GUIDES Filed June 50, 1953 INVENTOR. 4 HENRY JI BIANCO BY EM 0 ATTORNEYS United States PatentO WINDOW WITH REMOVABLE SASH GUIDES Henry J. Bianco, Baltimore, Md., assignor to The Burch Company, Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland Application June 30, 1953, Serial No. 365,056

9 Claims. (Cl. 52.2)

This invention relates to a frame and to rails or guides for use in removably retaining slidable members in position in said frame. More particularly, the invention relates to a metal window frame and to demountable metal rails for guiding vertically slidable window sashes, screens, or the like, in such frame. However, the principles of the invention are readily adaptable to any sliding member or panel and are particularly directed to a supporting frame construction and an arrangement of rails or guides therein for positively holding said members or panels against accidental withdrawal, said frame and rails being mutually designed, notwithstanding, so as to render the rails readily removable at will in the event that it is desired to remove the members or panels normally retained thereby.

In brief, the present invention resides in a supporting means and oppositely disposed guide means fastened to said supporting means for receiving the opposed edges of a slidable member. More specifically, a pair of rails or guides is removably secured to a suitable supporting frame structure and is held in position on said structure between parallel retaining flanges extending along and engaging the longitudinal edges of the guides or rails.

I One of these retaining flanges is low, that is, of a height less than the normal working clearance between the slidable member and the rails or guides, whereby the fastening means for the guides may be removed and the latter moved inwardly a suflicient distance to clear its low retaining flange and permit its lateral withdrawal from confinement bet-ween the retaining flanges. Preferably, the supporting structure for the guide means includes top and bottom members defining abutments at the ends of the guide means and against which the guide means abut when mounted in operative position. One of the guide means is preferably formed of two aligned sections of similar cross-section with their ends in abutment and one of these sections being at least as long as the corresponding dimension or height of the slidable member guided thereby for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide guide means for slidable members which guide means are readily mountable in and readily removable from their supporting structure to facilitate installation of the slidable members and to facilitate removal thereof for service, repair, or replacement.

Still another object of this invention is to provide guide means for a slidable member consisting of simple structural elements easy to assemble and economical to produce.

Another object of this invention is to provide removable guide means for a slidable member and wherein the normal working clearance between the slidable member and the guide means is employed to permit initial movement of the guide means away from its support to permit complete lateral removal thereof from the supporting structure.

2,775,003 Patented Dec. 25, 1956 A more specific object is to provide a window frame and permanent rails for sliding window sash and/or screens mutually designed to provide for ready removal of the rails, etc., whenever desired.

Other objects and advantages will appear to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a window frame and guide means serving as an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1 but drawn to an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 but showing one of the sash guides in the process of being removed from the window frame; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the upper and lower portions, respectively, of the sash guide shown in Fig. 4 as being partially removed from the window frame.

The window frame of Fig. 1 comprises vertical side members 2, a horizontal lintel 4 and a horizontal sill 6. The frame may be constructed and assembled in the manner described in detail and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 365,053, filed on June 30, 1953. Hence a full and complete description of the window frame herein is deemed unnecessary, although the frame will be described to the extent necessary to an understanding of the present invention. Thus, each of the side members 2 comprises a web portion 2a and a plurality of external vertical flanges 7, 7a, 7b and 7c integral with said web portion. The side members 2 are preferably of extruded aluminum or aluminum alloy and include a high fixed flange 8 adjacent the outside edge of the window frame and an inside border flange 10 of considerably less relative height than the flange 8. The word height, as used herein, means the distance the flanges 8 and Ill project inwardly from the web 2a.

Actually, the height of the flange 10, in one form of the invention is only of an inch. Both side members 2 are of identical cross-section. The flanges 8 and 10 extend vertically of the frame and are parallel to each other defining therebetween a space for the reception of a guide means or rail 12 arranged and constructed to guide sliding frames, for example, a pair of window sashes 14, shown in dot-and-dash lines in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The details of the sash frames 14 constitute no part of the present invention and, therefore, they are only diagrammatically shown herein. I

The guides or rails 12 are also preferably extruded aluminum or aluminum alloy shapes and are substantially of the same width as the space between the flanges 8 and 10. The guides 12 are of thin wall section and are formed with wall portions 16 and 18, flanges 20, 22 and 23 disposed perpendicular thereto, and a connecting portion 24 between flanges 22 and 23 disposed parallel with said wall portions. The flanges 22 and 23, and

' the connecting portion 24 are the equivalent of and may define a second channel to receive and guide an edge of the other sliding sash 14. The flanges 8 and 10 engage opposite edges of the guides 12 and thus accurately position the guides relative to the side members 2 of the window frame. Suitable removable fastening means, such as screws 26, are employed to secure the guides 12 to the: side members 2 in the position described.

The guide 12 shown in the left side of Fig. 1 comprises an upper section 12a and a lower section 12b (Figs. 5 and 6) with abutting end portions 23. The sections 12a and 3.21) are of identical cross-sectional shape so when mounted on the left side member 2 with their ends 28 in abutment they, in effect, define a single continuous guide or trackway. The uppermost end of the section 12a is formed to mate with the inner contour of the lintel 4 and has an extension 3%) mating with channel 32 of the lintel and acting to prevent lateral displacement of the guide means. The lowermost end of section 1% is formed to mate with the upper surface of the sill 6, as is most clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The guide 12 on the right hand side of Fig. 1 is one continuous length of the extruded aluminum material, but could be made in two sections, although this is not necessary.

It is to be noted, from Fig. 3 that the sliding sash frames 14 are guided within the channels defined by flanges Zil, 22-, 23 and S but the edges of the frames 14 are spaced inwardly a substantially distance from the walls 16 and 13, thus providing adequate working clearance 34 between thin weather stripping (not shown) on the slidable frames 14 and their guides 12.

Assuming the parts to be in the position illustrated in Fig. 3, if it is desired to remove the slidable sash frames 14 from tne Window frame, both frames 14 are moved to their lowermost position so that their upper edges are positioned below the abutting ends 23 of the guide sections 12a and 12b. The fastening means 26 holding the section 120 to the left side member 12 are then removed and the lowermost end of the section 12a is swung inwardly into the window opening, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. l, and then downwardly to disengage the extension 30 from the channel 32 of the lintel 4, to readily remove said section from the window frame. Thereafter, the fastening means 26 in section 12b exposed above the slidable sash frames M are removed, and the frames 14 are then moved to the upper limit of their travel. The fastening means 26 in the lower portion of the section 1219 are now exposed and may then be readily removed, thus leaving the section 125 loosely confined between the flanges 8 and 10. The section 12b is then slid upwardly between the sash frames 14 and left side member 2 to a sufficient height for its contoured lower end to clear the flange 6a of the mating portions of the sill a, and the section 121; may simultaneously, or thereafter, be moved inwardly of the window frame into the window opening until it engages the weather stripping (not shown) on the adjacent edges of the sash frames 14. As stated previously, the height of flange 19 is about ,5 of an inch,

or less than the working clearance between the guides 12 and the weather stripping on the sash frames 14 so the extent of movement of the guide means into contact with the frames 14, as described, is sufficient to position the outermost surface of the walls 16 and 18 inwardly of the terminal edge of flange 10, whereupon the section 12b and the sash frames 14 may be swung relative to the window frame, as indicated in Fig. 4, sufliciently to permit their ready lateral withdrawal from the guide means 12 on the other side of the window frame. A reverse order of procedure, as will be obvious, enables any unskilled person to readily assemble the guide means and sliding frames in the window frames.

While a single specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it is merely illustrative and not limiting. Many other embodiments may be resorted to without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Guide means for a sliding frame comprising: an elongated, fixed supporting member having a guide supporting surface, and parallel longitudinal fixed flanges disposed perpendicular to said. surface and extending along opposite edges thereof; a guide having a wall portion lying against said surface and edge portions engaging said flanges, parallel walls on said guide disposed perpendicular to said wall portion and defining therebetween a trackway of sufficient width to receive therein an edge of a sliding frame, one of said fixed flanges being of substantially less height than the other so that said guide when moved away from said surface into contact with said sliding frame may be moved laterally with said frame and clear said one fixed flange, one of said parallel walls being spaced from the fixed flange of greatest height to provide a second trackway of sufficient width to receive therein edge of a second sliding frame; and means independent of said sliding frames removably securing said guide to said supporting member.

2. Guide means as defined in claim 1, including a second guide arranged in parallel spaced relation to said firstmentioned guide and adapted to guide the other edge of the siiding frames; and fixed members extending between and abutting the ends of said spaced guides, said firstmentioned guide means comprising separate aligned sections in end-abutting relation, one of said sections being of a shorter length than the other section.

3. Guide means for a sliding frame comprising, an elongated fixed supporting member having a guide supporting surface and parallel longitudinal fixed flanges disposed perpendicular to said surface and extending along opposite edges thereof; a guide having a Wall portion lying against said surface and edge portions engaging said flanges; means including a portion of U-shaped cross section located medially of the width of said guide defining trackways on said guide for guiding the edge of a pair of sliding frames, one of said fixed flanges being of substantially less height than the other so that said guide when moved away from said surface into contact with said sliding frame may be moved laterally with said frame and clear said one fixed flange; and means independent of said sliding frames removably securing said guide to said supporting member.

4. Guide means as defined in claim 3, including a second guide parallel to said first-mentioned guide and adapted to guide the opposite edges of said frames; fixed abutments engaging the ends of said guides; one of said guides comprising separate aligned sections in end-abutting relation, one of said sections being of a shorter length than the other section.

5. In a window construction, a rectangular frame having horizontal end members and vertical side members, the inwardly directed faces of said side members having parallel fixed vertical flanges along the edges thereof; a slidable frame; and guide means removably secured to said faces between said fixed flanges and arranged to embrace and guide opposed edges of said slidable frame, one of said fixed flanges being of a height less than the normal working clearance between said guide means and said frame guided thereby so that said guide means when moved away from said surface into contact with said sliding frame may be moved laterally with said frame and clear said one fixed flange, the guide means on one of said faces comprising separate aligned sections, one of said sections being of a length at least equal to the vertical dimension of the frame guided thereby.

6. A window construction as defined in claim 5, wherein the lower horizontal end member of said rectangular frame is provided with longitudinally extending means, said longitudinally extending means projecting upwardly to interlock with the ends of said guide means and arranged to prevent lateral movement of said guide means in a direction generally parallel to said inwardly directed faces.

7. A window construction as defined in claim 5, wherein the upper horizontal member of said rectangular frame is provided with a downwardly facing channel extending longitudinally of said member, and the upper end of each of said guide means has a projection extending into said channel.

8. A window construction as defined in claim 5, wherein each of said guide means substantially fills the; space between its associated pair of fixed vertical flanges and defines therewith a plurality of inwardly facing guide channels.

9, In a windowconstruction, a rectangular main frame having vertical side member's, inwardly directed faces on said side members having parallel fixed vertical flanges along the edges thereof, guide means removably secured to said faces between said fixed flanges and arranged to embrace and guide opposed edges of a vertically slidable frame; first and second vertically slidable frames mounted with clearance in said guide means; one of said fixed flanges being of a height less than the normal working clearance between said guide means and said frames, each of said guide means comprising a back wall lying against one of said inwardly directed faces, a guide flange 15 along one edge of said back wall adjacent said one fixed flange, the other edge of said back wall being positioned against the other fixed flange, an inwardly directed vertical rib extending along said back wall substantially medially thereof, said guide flange and said rib defining there* between a guide channel for said first sliding frame and said other fixed flange and said rib defining therebetween a second guide channel for said second sliding frame, the low height of said one fixed flange and said clearance between said guide means and sliding frames making it possible to detach the guide means secured to one of said faces and to remove the same from the main frame while said sliding frames are engaged with said guide 10 means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 942,269 Lee Dec. 7, 1909 1,026,520 Lunken May 14, 1912 2,564,265 Knott Aug. 14, 1951 2,636,227 Altwies Apr. 28, 1953 2,662,255 Serley et a1. Dec. 15, 1953 

